Chandler Officers In Shootout Were Trying To Sell Pot

[Ganjarden]

Arizona - Chandler police detectives were selling 500 pounds of marijuana in an operation called a "reversal'' when they became the victims of a botched drug ripoff in south Phoenix, according to court records released Friday.

Chandler police detectives were selling 500 pounds of marijuana in an operation called a "reversal'' when they became the victims of a botched drug ripoff in south Phoenix, according to court records released Friday.

Two defendants in the fatal shooting of Detective Carlos Ledesma, 34, showed police $250,000, demonstrating they had the cash to buy the pot, at a fast food restaurant at 19th Avenue and Broadway Road in Phoenix, and later inspected a sample at nearby location, documents prepared by Phoenix police said.

But when police drove their unmarked vehicle into a garage of a house in the 2300 block of W. Maldonado Avenue loaded with marijuana, shots rang out inside that eventually left Ledesma dead and two other detectives critically injured.

Chandler and Phoenix police both confirmed the scenario as efforts were underway to plan Ledesma's funeral.

Sgt. Joe Favazzo, a Chandler police spokesman, said the undercover operation did not involve a traditional exchange where dealers sell drugs to undercover agents. In this case, the undercover officers had the drugs and the suspects had the cash.

"This is a reversal,'' said Sgt. Joe Favazzo, a Chandler police spokesman. "This is seized evidentiary marijuana.''

He said one wounded detective was doing "much, much better'' at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center while the third has been released from the hospital.

Neither Favazzo nor his Phoenix police counterpart, Sgt. Steve Martos, could say why the Chandler detectives were attempting to sell the marijuana to buyers in southwest Phoenix. The botched drug ripoff on Wednesday evening also left two suspects dead and another hospitalized, while five others were arrested on charges ranging from first-degree murder to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

One of the dead was identified Friday as Markiese Royalty, believed to be 26, the cousin of another suspect Jerry Cockhearn III, 34. The second has not yet been identified.

In addition to Cockhearn, those in custody were identified as Thadika Singleton, 38, John Webber, 37, Doarnell Jackson, 35, Jerry Wayne Cockhearn, 25, and Eldridge Gittens, 34.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: azcentral.com
Author: Jim Walsh
Contact: azcentral.com
Copyright: 2010, azcentral.com
Website: Chandler officers in shootout were trying to sell pot

[greeenbudzzz]

what did they think was going to happen

[gromper]

This kind of activity goes on all the time in the seedy world of volume drug dealing. Greed is the driving force. It's dangerous to play with the big boys.

[Robin Hood]

Notice these were Chandler police officers operating in Phoenix ... either way, I hope this isn't used as a springboard for prideful retaliation against Proposition 203 as opposed to the wake up call it is to the depths of evil being manifested through this ridiculous prohibition.

[chancedebris]

and perhaps they were just selling usual supply of conficated stuff with NO reverse, but it went bad.

[MedicalNeed]

Are there any locals who can verify that this story is even true and not a timed related press propaganda just before AZ. votes?

The timing in a lot of some of these violent stories seem just to planned in many instances.

[SnowBender]

Originally Posted by chancedebris

and perhaps they were just selling usual supply of conficated stuff with NO reverse, but it went bad.

Ding! Ding!

Bust my ass. The pigs stole a few bales of weed, saw the dollar signs and got greedy.

pulling into and unknown garage with 500k in weed doesnt strike me as standard operating police procedure...

[gromper]

Originally Posted by SnowBender

Ding! Ding!

Bust my ass. The pigs stole a few bales of weed, saw the dollar signs and got greedy.

pulling into and unknown garage with 500k in weed doesnt strike me as standard operating police procedure...

Ya gotta wonder who knew about this "Operation" and how they might be involved. These kinds of setups are often clandestine and known to only a few. If it goes right, perhaps it is a big payday for those involved. We often hear of corruption leading all the way to the Top. If it goes wrong, it was a "planned operation" that just went bad.

Meeting strangers in a 500-pound deal in an unknown garage - how lame are these people. There are much more secure and safe ways of handling an exchange of this size. Has the appearance of greed to me too.

[Robin Hood]

Originally Posted by MedicalNeed

Are there any locals who can verify that this story is even true and not a timed related press propaganda just before AZ. votes?

Yeah, it's true... peculiar, but true. It's been all over the news here for the last week... pre-funeral viewing days and times and all of that, it happened right around the corner from my in-law's home.

[MedicalNeed]

Thank You for the comment on this Brotherobin with the AZ. vote coming up I was kinda doubtful about it.

[Droughtboijay]

good the bitches got what they deserved... fuck the police... corrupt bitches...

[SnowBender]

Originally Posted by Droughtboijay

good the bitches got what they deserved... fuck the police... corrupt bitches...

Not all of them...We like our local police. they protect us from the rippers and sometimes even the feds.

[gromper]

Originally Posted by SnowBender

Not all of them...We like our local police. they protect us from the rippers and sometimes even the feds.

Agreed - if there weren't any good ones, we'd never hear about the bad ones getting caught. I wonder how this one will play out. I still think it was stupid of them to take that kind of risk.

[Robin Hood]

These are (and were) family men with wives and kids, corrupt or not, these kids have to live with this for the rest of their lives... the story is tragic. And to top it all off they were murdered over a plant! How many more poeple have to die? How many more American 's have to be imprisoned before we speak up?! Look, (for all of you AZ residents) I know proposition 203 is just a step... but it's a step in the right direction. Another step toward legalization. Go out and vote this November! Don't ignore this opportunity to be heard. This has got to stop! And if you benefit from herb, don't just sit back and complain, get up and get out! Make your voice heard... SB 1070 is one of the best things that's happened to AZ in years, and look what happened when people got out and spoke up! EVERYONE turned on AZ! And they're not even impacted by the bill! We can make this happen, man.

[gromper]

This is more about domestic distribution and has nothing to do with the border. Everyone turned on AZ because SB 1070 is a stupid, poorly thought through bill. We don't need to debate that here though and I would guess (I obviously don't know) you were white skinned (or let's just say non-hispanic) and racial profiling does not apply to you. If I were Hispanic, I would move out of AZ or if I wanted to stay, take to the streets and voice my opinions like so many are doing - and I would be carrying my "papers" just in case.

This is about poor planning by the police attempting to infiltrate the upper end of distribution channels. They obviously didn't know who they were dealing with and got set up by thugs over 100K worth of pot. I am sure there is much more to the story we don't know about.

Even if pot were legal, there will still be the black market and big illegal deals will still be going on and the police will still be trying to catch the bad guys. Legalization will only trim out the consumer end of police actions. There will still be plenty for them to do. I just hope they can proceed more carefully in the future.